Simple and inexpensive solutions to fight holiday stress

It’s the most wonderful time of the year...

Or so the song says. For children maybe because all they have to do is eat, receive gifts and sign the occasional card for relatives, but for us adults who have to deal with nightmarish traffic, huge crowds, long shopping lists and party after party this could easily be the most stressful time of the year.

In our last post we talked about various holiday stressors, how the body reacts to stress and how this leads to weight gain. In this follow-up article we’ll share some ways validated by experts to help you cope with holiday stress. By staying relaxed, calm and energized you can actually enjoy time spent away from work and among the company of loved ones, and keep your waist trim in the process!

These methods are easy to do or find and won’t necessarily require you to wish Santa for a bigger bank account.

·         Spend a day out in the sun. This encourages the body to produce the feel-good hormone serotonin and provides required Vitamin D3, which is crucial for regulating some of our important functions like appetite, sleep, mood and behavior. It is also a natural way to ease Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, a debilitating form of depression caused by the change in season when days become short and cold. Get together with some friends and have a picnic at your favourite outdoor hangout or take the kids and pets out to the park. If you don’t have the time or patience for the crowd outside, opening doors and windows to let those golden rays in is a good alternative.

·         Savour the fragrance of citrus. A study done by researchers at the Mie University School of Medicine in Japan found that citrus fragrance reduced the doses of antidepressants needed to treat depressive patients. Citrus essential oils also do the trick if you need a quick pick-me-up at the office.

·         Get moving! Got a few hours in the morning to spare before work? Jog a few rounds around the block or walk briskly for at least a half hour. We all know it feels good afterward, but what’s the science behind? According to Dr. Ann Kulze, a respected expert on wellness and nutrition, the rhythm and repetition from walking or jogging has a tranquilizing effect on the brain, which translates to decreasing anxiety and improving the quality of sleep.

An even better idea is to combine the first three tips. Get up early in the morning when the sun isn’t too hot yet, walk briskly to the local supermarket or farm and get yourself a bag of oranges or lemons to eat or make into a delicious juice for breakfast.

·         Squeeze, squeeze. In traditional Chinese medicine, pressing the hoku spot or the fleshy area located between your index finger and thumb firmly for 30 seconds reduces stress and tension in the upper body. You can easily do this yourself whenever you start to feel overwhelmed from the long line at the checkout counter or while waiting for a cab that never seems to materialize when you need it most.

·         Find time for laughter. Alright, spending an hour (or a few) to watch Jimmy Kimmel or a Jim Carey flick on your couch might not be too practical if you barely have enough time to chew your food during meals but that doesn’t mean you have to wear a frown the whole day. Stuck in unmoving traffic or waiting for an appointment? Browse through a collection of photos on your phone and have a laugh-fest of your most silly, “what-was-I-thinking?” moments. YouTube on your mobile is also very handy in these situations.

Whatever difficulty we found ourselves in, it’s important to remember that the quality of life we live depends largely on perspective. Hey, even the rich and famous have their own share of feuds, divorces and bad hair days too. If you always find time to be grateful for every blessing that came your way and strive to see the good that has the potential to come out in every situation, you will find that these stressors we go through are merely ‘hiccups’ compared to the happiness we get from life. 

Holiday Stress - Another Reason for Weight Gain

As if the overflowing food and drinks from parties and dinners this month and early the next aren’t enough reasons to pile on the pounds, the stress we experience during this time is another reason for weight gain.

Preparing meals, buying and wrapping gifts, looking for the perfect outfit to complement each event we attend can leave us in a constant state of motion as we go all over town. Others who do not have family or partners face a different type of stress as they deal with loneliness and depression in the season where everyone is under pressure to be in a festive mood.

All of these add on to the pressures we already experience from our daily life of dealing with projects, bosses, clients, heavy traffic, bills, spouses and children.

What goes on inside – how the body reacts to stress

Our body has a built-in mechanism for handling stress. This set of physiological and biological reactions give you a burst of energy needed during make-or-break, dangerous situations. Whenever you experience an acute stressor, adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol into the bloodstream. This results to a surge in blood sugar which the body can use to fuel urgent actions like fighting and running or its modern-day equivalents of slamming on the car breaks, sprinting to catch the last bus or going after the colleague that spreads false rumours about you in the office.

Once the problem has been dealt with, the cortisol exits your system and the body resumes its normal metabolic state. Unfortunately, with our modern pressure-filled lifestyle we simply swap one form of stressor for another as we go through the day.

Chronic stress

During the holidays, stress is compounded as we have to deal with additional expenses and additional responsibilities on top of pressures from work and the people we interact with on a daily basis. 

Holiday shopping, writing and mailing Christmas cards, getting the house decorated, preparing for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve meals and the various get-togethers we attend leading up to these two big occasions can leave us feeling overwhelmed. It leads to chronic stress as we feel there is always something that still needs to be done and we don’t have enough time or resources.

Biologically, this causes significant metabolic imbalances and constantly elevated cortisol levels. This means blood sugar is always being readied to provide energy. It doesn’t have a good effect if this happens often.

Chronic stress and weight gain

Most of these mini-stressors we encounter do not require us to exert a lot of physical effort, unlike with our ancestors whose ‘emergency’ situations consisted of fleeing from storms and wild animals or walking long distances to look for food.

All of the excess sugar, generated by too much cortisol that does not get used as energy is stored as body fat. Elevated cortisol also results to a drop in serotonin, the hormone which regulates mood, sleep and appetite, among others. Low serotonin levels send a message to the brain to crave sugar and eat more to address the deficiency. Since most of the food available on the Christmas table is already fatty or sweet to begin with, eating more than what your body needs to deal with stress predisposes it to store more fat.

You can ease your stress, decrease your cravings and get control of your weight today with CortiSLIM!

Does CortiSLIM work?

Do you live a hectic and stress-filled life?

Have you noticed your pants are fitting a little tighter than they used to?

If you find yourself doing all the right things and yet you are still struggling with belly fat --

It’s not your fault!

Studies have linked our busy, stress-filled lives to a hormone called, “Cortisol”.

Cortisol releases glucose, protein and fat into your bloodstream to give you energy to handle your stress. Your body stores this unused energy around the abdominal organs. This type of fat, known as visceral fat, is most damaging to your health and can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

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The true secret to beauty is a lifestyle that promotes good health. A sensible diet and regular exercise is vital, but sometimes you need an edge to help with the last few inches around your middle.

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CortiSLIM will help your body burn fat more efficiently, it will help you manage your stress effectively, and will help increase your metabolism allowing you to shed those unwanted pounds faster and get your body back on the right track.

Are you ready to say goodbye to your belly fat?

CortiSLIM is a 3^rd Generation dietary supplement that delivers scientifically developed, high-quality formulations that can truly make the difference in your body transformation. You’ve dreamed about it. Now you can do it and CortiSLIM can help you reach your full potential.

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CortiPlex is a proprietary blend of ingredients to compliment the stress-reducing effects of exercising and helps to reduce stress levels and decrease cortisol levels.

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Advanced 3-Complex Weight Loss Formula* Includes all the same beneficial ingredients as CortiSLIM Original, but with significantly higher levels of Chromium Polynicotinate and Green Tea (EGCG). Also includes Vitamin D3, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Cocoa Bean Extract and Vinpocetine which was featured on Dr. Oz as a highly regarded supplement known to increase blood flow to the brain, manage stress and decrease inflammation.

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Managing Work Stress

I have had some stressful jobs in my past and each stressful in their own way. One was performance-based stressed and the other all based on interpersonal-stress. I’m sure everyone could tell a story about a job with a particular stressor.

Today’s fast-paced and high-pressure lifestyle often pushes us beyond our physical and mental limits. In urban cities and highly developed countries, it is not uncommon for lawyers to clock in 90 hours a week, doctors to work in 30 consecutive-hour shifts, and soldiers to go on days without proper sleep during missions. Even regular eight-hour shifters are not spared as they are often required to render overtime and forego their rest days during busy periods on a business. All of this causes enormous amounts of stress that result to health and relationship problems, further adding to the strain already felt in the first place.

This problem is further worsened by the prevailing culture which inspires admiration and offers rewards for those who disregard rest and relaxation to put in all the time they can spare and absorb tremendous pressure from bosses, colleagues and clients at work. As the popular saying goes, "The only difference between a diamond and a lump of coal is that the diamond had a little more pressure put on it." This sends a clear message that those who are not willing to go beyond what is increasingly becoming a ‘normal’ long task list and work hours are easily laid off or have fewer opportunities for career growth.

Still, we need to manage stress as all of us need to work to live comfortably and provide for our family. As any good soldier will tell you, in order to defeat the enemy, you must first get to know it well. Here are the different types of on-the-job stress and how to deal with each one:

·         Time stress. Impending deadline. Stuck in traffic and going late for an important meeting or presentation. Being too tired after work to spend quality time with the family. Time stress happens when you feel there aren’t enough hours in the day so you can do everything you need to do, and because of this you feel powerless, trapped, and unhappy.

How to manage it: Time management is an important skill you must develop so you can be productive not just during work, but when you get home and face your responsibilities there as well. Make a to-do list where your tasks are listed in order of priority. If possible, estimate how much time you will take up for each and stick to it. Put a small clock in your desk if necessary so you are aware of the passage of time. Clear up all non-essential apps and games on your PC. No gaming, posting or tweeting on the job! And don’t be tempted to use your smartphone either. Disable your Wi-Fi if needed so you can concentrate on the task at hand. You’ll have all the time to do these later during breaks and after work hours. If you feel like you’re frequently biting off more work than you can chew, learn to politely but firmly say “no”.

·         Anticipatory stress. This kind of stress happens when you worry too much about the future. It may either be concerned on a specific event such as an upcoming presentation, or a general sense of dread about the future when you feel your expectations will not be met or that you will fail.

How to manage it: Two words: positive thinking. Anticipatory stress is based on future events and because you do not have full control over what happens in the future, if you can’t help thinking about it at least think about it going positively. Create a scenario in your mind where you feel powerful and in control. Instead of fretting about the presentation turning into a mess, imagine you having a satisfied smile on your face as you finish and the people in front of you clapping or nodding in agreement. Create a contingency plan of every scenario where things can go wrong and how you will react it. If you feel you are well prepared to face an uncertain situation, the knowledge that you have planned for it well gives you confidence to face it.

·         Situational stress. This involves a situation where you feel you cannot control things, as in an emergency, calamity, conflict, diminished status or loss of acceptance from an important person or in a group you strongly identify with. Specific events include being in conflict with someone or making a major blunder during a group activity that caused the group’s performance to fail. Even witnessing people arguing in front of you already puts you in a situational stress.

How to manage it: Everyone reacts to this type of stress differently. Some may withdraw emotionally and cry in a corner. Others shout or act aggressively. However you choose to react, be aware of how you respond physically and emotionally to a stressor. If you tend to withdraw, learn how to think on your feet so you can communicate better and release the steam off. If you are the aggressive type, take stock of your emotions. Just before you’re about to “go over the edge” simply walk away from the situation and come back later with a cooler head. Stay in a quiet, relaxing room and take long, deep breaths.

·         Encounter stress. Dreading the meeting with top management or a client who doesn’t have a particularly good reputation? Encounter stress occurs when you worry about interacting with people you don’t like or think are unpredictable. This will also happen if you feel drained or overwhelmed from contact with so many people. Let’s face it, not everyone you meet on the job is open to what you do nor do they welcome the intrusion by unfamiliar faces.

How to manage it: Since this type of stress is entirely focused on how you relate to people, if it’s unavoidable in your job now would be the time to brush up on your people skills. Develop your emotional intelligence, or the ability to recognize the emotions and needs of others. Have empathy too. Put yourself in their shoes and ask: “what would I do if I were them?” A little more patience wouldn’t hurt as well, especially when dealing with crowds.

The problem with all this stress is the Cortisol our bodies produce when stress is consistently at an all-time high. Cortisol releases glucose, protein and fat into your bloodstream to give you energy to handle your stress. Your body stores this unused energy around the abdominal organs. This type of fat, known as visceral fat, is most damaging to your health and can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

CortiSLIM will help your body burn fat more efficiently, it will help you manage your stress effectively, and will help increase your metabolism allowing you to shed those unwanted pounds faster and get your body back on the right track. 

Stress, Anxiety and Weight Gain: How to Prevent Unwanted Weight Gain

Anxiety is inevitable for most of us. In this economy, many of us are worried about excessive bills continuously piling up, while others may be thinking about urgent deadlines at work or failing grades at school. You might be wondering: Is it possible that your new found belly fat might possibly be related? The answer is: Yes. But, there is good news! You can do something to whittle that tummy away.

How Stress Affects Your Weight

When you're worried or pressured, your body releases adrenalin, a hormone that gives you instant energy. Along with adrenalin, your body also releases cortisol which increases your appetite and ultimately drives you to eat more in order to replenish your used energy. People who frequently experience anxious situations consume comfort foods, especially high-calorie foods, even when not hungry. This habit leads to an unhealthy diet that causes you to gain weight and "visceral" fat - which is fat stored around the midsection and commonly known as belly fat. This is the most dangerous type of fat you can heave because it can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

How to Avoid Stress-Induced Weight Gain

Knowing that anxiety affects your body in various ways, it's best that you take action to mitigate unwanted effects. Here's how you can interrupt the cycle and stop weight gain.

Exercise regularly:

Exercising not only burns calories; it also helps you feel better by releasing a cascade of hormones and biochemicals that lift up your mood.

Maintain a balanced diet, and never skip meals:

Avoid binging on high-calorie foods, and go for healthy foods like vegetables, whole grain and high-fiber foods.

Always find time to relax:

Self-care is so important, especially in times of stress. Whether it is a nice warm bath with candles, or a yoga class, or maybe coffee with your friends. Whatever makes me you feel good and cared for.

Take well-researched, doctor-formulated supplements like CortiSLIM which contain healthful ingredients that counter the effects of excess cortisol. 

CortiSLIM's ingredients provide a unique three-pronged approach to weight loss by addressing stress, enhancing thermogenesis (so you can burn more fat) and encouraging lean body mass through supporting healthy blood glucose levels. These revolutionary products blend three Proprietary Complexes in its unique and powerful weight loss formula's to give you The CortiSLIM Advantage.*

If you find yourself frequently upset, do your best to follow a healthy eating and exercising regimen. Live a healthy lifestyle, and take supplements like CortiSLIM to prevent gaining extra pounds.

Managing Stress

Managing Stress:

We all have stress sometimes. For some people, it happens before having to speak in public. For other people, it might be before a first date. What causes stress for you may not be stressful for someone else. Sometimes stress is helpful – it can encourage you to meet a deadline or get things done. But long-term stress can increase the risk of diseases like depression, heart disease and a variety of other problems.

There are very few among us who have never experienced stress. Whether it’s a pending work deadline or an overwhelming physical threat, our body’s response to stress can be both helpful and harmful.

Our stress response gives us the strength and speed to ward off or flee from impending danger. But when it continues, stress increases cortisol levels and can put us at risk for obesity, heart disease, cancer, and a variety of other illnesses. [Stress System Malfunction Could Lead to Serious, Life Threatening Disease by George Chrousos, M.D., Chief of the Pediatric and Reproductive Endocrinology Branch at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Philip Gold, MD, of the Clinical Neuroendocrinology Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 2002].

A threat to your life or safety causes your body to undergo immediate physical changes. A chemical signal deep inside your brain speeds stress hormones through the bloodstream, preparing your body to be alert and prepared to escape danger. This is known as the “Flight or Fight” response. You have faster reaction times, your concentration becomes more focused, and your agility and strength increase. When the stressful situation ends, hormonal signals switch off the stress response and the body returns to normal. [George Chrousos, M.D., and Philip Gold, MD, National Institutes of Health, 2002].

But with today’s fast paced lifestyle, stress often doesn’t let up. Many of us now constantly experience anxiety and worry about work, relationships, money, the economy, college expenses, and job security-among others. As a result, the stress hormones produced by our body in anticipation of physical harm or threat continue to wash through the system in high levels, never leaving the blood and tissues. The stress response that gave our ancestors the speed and endurance to escape life-threatening dangers runs constantly in many modern people and never shuts down.

If you have chronic stress, the best way to deal with it is to take care of the underlying problem. Counselling can help you find ways to relax and calm down.

Regular exercise, as well as medicines, and the following supplements, may also help:

Supplements, like CortiSLIM, that have stress mitigating ingredients can be helpful.

Supplements that reduce insulin resistance can be useful.

Chromium in appropriate form and dosages has been shown to be an effective insulin sensitizing agent that reduces excess insulin as well as glucose.

Calcium in appropriate form and dose may reduce fat deposition.

Vanadium can reduce appetite as well as improve glucose utilization by cells, thereby reducing excess insulin production.

Green Tea has been found to reduce absorption of fats, as well as reduce excess insulin production.

Green Tea also has an effect that increases metabolism, thereby increasing calorie burning with normal daily activities. Also, Green Tea contains caffeine that in many instances can reduce stress.

Magnolia Bark may reduce stress and cortisol secretion.

Benefits of Vinpocetine in CortiSLIM Advanced

Since its debut on the Dr. Oz Show, the popularity of vinpocetine is getting amazingly extensive. It is now regarded as a totally safe nutritional supplement that bears remarkable benefits to human health, especially the ability of the brain to function optimally. 

Vinpocetine is a complex compound that is extracted from periwinkle seeds, a shrub that is perennially indigenous to southern and central Europe and now growing in the United States. For over two millennia, the herb has been known as a potent medicinal plant without much objective proof. Today, scientific research has revealed a lot of facts about vinpocetine.

The Wonderful Cognitive Enhancer

Principally, vinpocetine is an amazing cerebral vasodilator. It expands the blood vessels of the brain and facilities proper flow of blood to the brain. The many effects of vinpocetine on the brain have earned it recognition as a cognitive enhancer. The effects include enhancement of both short and long term mental functions. The supplement optimizes cerebral blood flow, ensures that vital nutrients, glucose and oxygen reach the brain. In the long run, vinpocetine helps to sharpen memory and mental acuity and reduces the effect of aging on mental alertness. The supplement also boosts the ability to think and learn through massive information and data, and ensures that the individual has enhanced attentiveness and vigilance.

Vinpocetine prevents cerebral ischemia (that is impairment of blood flow to the brain), averts hypoxia (inadequate oxygen) and therefore prevents the occurrence of dementia. The drug is neuro-protective, that is, it has the ability to protect the brain from damage through facilitation of energy utilization and facilitation of cerebral metabolism. The drug is also protective against a group of illnesses that are known as Age Related Cognitive Declines (ARCD), that diminish the quality of life significantly.

Anti-Inflammatory

The vinpocetine extract is an incredible anti-inflammatory substance. A number of researches done by the University of Rochester have demonstrated that the drug reduces lung inflammation. Usually, lung inflammation is treated using steroids. However, the steroids have dangerous side effects to the user which necessitate the need for a side-effects free solution. Vinpocetine has no side effects and also posts remarkable results with rheumatoid arthritis and obstructive pulmonary disease.

Hair Loss

Vinpocetine treats hair loss and is currently the most desirable drug for hair loss as a replacement for minoxidyl. Minoxidyl is an amazingly powerful cerebral vasodilator but causes chest pains and excessive lowering of the blood pressure. Vinpocetine offers the same vasodilatation and prevention of hair loss exclusive of these terrible side effects.

Vertigo (Illusion of Movement)

Vertigo means abrupt whirling or spinning sensation that is commonly accompanied by loss of balance, lightheadedness, vomiting, nausea and sweating. Vinpocetine eliminates the symptoms that characterize vertigo because of its powerful vasodilatory characteristics. A dosage of 15 mg per day is recommended for effective treatment of vertigo.

Many More Benefits

Vinpocetine has many more benefits to the body. It helps to relieve loss of hearing and the buzzing or ringing of ears. The extract also improves night vision, prevents and improves age-associated macular decline, and prevents or relieves glaucoma. Vinpocetine is also effective in improving cardiovascular function, blood circulation, and reduces atherosclerotic plaque. The extract is a wonderful bladder control agent.

Vinpocetine treats a wide-range of illnesses and remains the single most important natural way of dealing with mental function disorders. For a convenient dosage of vinpocetine, buy CortiSLIM Advanced containing vinpocetine at CortiSLIM